What's in a letter?

"What's in a name?"

Juliet posed this question in Romeo and Juliet.  She explained, "that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

In Kentucky, I think we need to ask ourselves "What's in a letter?"

Kentucky Education Commissioner Terry Holliday recently published a letter to the legislature stating that he hoped the legislature would continue to pressure the education establishment to abandon the status quo and look to the interests of children rather than adults.  This is a message that more bureaucrats, legislators, and teachers union leaders need to hear.

While Holliday makes a great point and expresses his concerns about the future of education in Kentucky, in the end, it is still just a letter.  Over the years there have been more than a few press conferences, task forces, studies, press releases, and public statements by those wielding power in Frankfort about how Kentucky's education system needs serious reform.

But what's in a task force?  What's in a study?  In a letter?

Getting upset about the problem is not only the first step but the most simple.  The hard part is applying pressure to the system to force change through creating accountability at each level of the system, welcoming school choice to create competition, and by not lying to parents and students about achievement gaps via test score inflation.

Juliet said a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.  An education system without accountability, transparency, and free-market options is just that.